I love them all I'm just thankful that we have the movies to discuss, they are a bonus to the books. We have the best of both worlds, books and movies. and the fact that we can talk about the movies and not just be a book club is great.

I see your point but don't quite agree. My acceptance of changes has a lot to do with intent. In FOTR, most of the changes are done for the sake of telling the story more efficiently. It eliminated the 17-year gap between Frodo getting the Ring and setting out on the quest (which, frankly, I always found silly), dropped Tom Bombadil and the Barrow-downs (which would slow down the beginning of the story, much as I love them), introduced us to Merry and Pippin differently (the hobbits' conspiracy would also have slowed things down), and introduced Arwen sooner and in a bigger role. These changes make sense to me when trying to compress a novel into a movie.

Some of the changes in the later films, however, are less about efficiency of story and more about adding new plotlines and inventions. Faramir's personality shift (to me) is a much more significant change and more jarring than anything that was altered in FOTR. Elves at Helm's Deep and the death of Haldir are also quite jarring when nothing like this exists in the book. Frodo banishing Sam before the fight with Shelob is also a major change that adds new drama where it didn't exist before. And obviously, adding Azog, Radagast, and Tauriel to The Hobbit is a pretty extreme change to the source material.

I'm much more open to changes when they're done to distill a story to its essence. I start to get leery when they're done to add new moments or plotlines or characters that may or may not be necessary to telling the story. I've grown to accept most of Jackson's changes (except Azog. I still hate that bastard! ) but even so, I think that FOTR feels truer to the spirit of the book than some of the later films.

Almost universally agreed? I think all we could say about the general opinion is that all 3 LotR films were pretty darned good...

I'd pick RotK, actually, because it nailed the ending for me. It always makes me cry, just the way the book always does. Which impresses me, as I rarely cry during movies (or while reading, for that matter!)

My sons would pick TTT (and in that, they would mirror Rotten Tomatoes, critics+audiences, where that film achieved higher ratings than the other two, though not by a very meaningful amount).

My all time favourite film and it is just... mind-blowing and that is a lot thanks to the cast of great actors. It is hard to say what I don't like about the movie, but I always feel the part where they battle a giant octupus before entering Moria is not really exciting if you've been watching the movie so many times. But really, I cannot imagine FOTR to be perfect, it would be impossible. Still, it is so close to perfect imo... other films don't stand a chance - it is just an amazing piece of art. I find it ironic though that the amazing portrayal of Gollum is not in FOTR and still it is the best movie.Boromir: One does not simply walk into Mordor...

I have an undying love for the whole trilogy as everyone here does too! But yes, I do find myself thinking FOTR is my fave of the three. There are so many reasons why and most of them seem to be smallest snippets of footage (eg Frodo turning with a single tear full of greif when Gandalf falls). But I cant help notice from the previous messages that TTT (although amazingly epic itself) does not really rock fans boats as much as the other two. I dont want to hijack a brillant thread but why do people feel this is?

I do find that when introducing my friends to PJs films and LOTR in general (it is fair to say that sadly they dont share my obbsession!) I did worry when playing them TTT after the FOTR. In my opinion, if you have no knowledge of Middle Earth, LOTR or Tolkien in general the gap between Gandalf returning as Gandalf the White and the battle of Helms Deep can (dare i say) be slightly dull. Now I would like to stress that I adore the intire film, but I did find that a LOTR newbie can begin to loose interest slightly before Helms deep and Osgiliath. I feel that the filmkeeps fans captivated because of the visions of Edoras and the introduction of Rohan and its people and culture. This is because we are anticipating it and are aware of Rohan. But I dont know if it washes with newbies and for people who have know knowledge of the country and its king? I think that PJ did a brillaint job of introducing Rohan to us but something feels amiss. I like to think i may be wrong because the film is precious to me (excuse the pun!) but this is what i have experienced. In the words of Aragorn "What Say You?!"Even the smallest person, can change the course of the future..."

Concerning Ents....As fans we understand the slowness and non - hastyness of Treebeard and the Ents. But I do feel that as a race in the film they do not do anything to grab someone (who has not seen the trilogys) attention for long enough. I know that is exactly how Tolkien percieved them to be, but they do not aid the film in being as epic as the FOTR and ROTK . I have even been told that they are "boring!" But i like to think that person changed their mind when it can to the march of the Ents "Even the smallest person, can change the course of the future..."

Most of those 100-150 times was many years ago, when FOTR was released on VHS it completely blew my mind and at that time I was very young. I was completely obsessed with it and watched it several times a week. Still watched it many times after that but not nearly to the same extent. In fact, it's been over a year since I saw any of the LOTR films. I'm saving it for later.

Not all of us agree with the premise. I think FOTR is probably the best, the most flawless and timeless of the three, but my personal favourite is TTT which is richer in character, darker in tone, and generally more exciting and rewatchable imo. All you have to decide, is what to do with the time that is given to you...